FAMILY & FRIENDS

Friday, April 2nd marked the date for this year’s Family & Friends show.  The Gaylord Texan’s Texas Ballroom served as a fabulous backdrop to a wonderful evening had by all.  Little did the audience know, but due to a booked event calendar at the Gaylord, the DCC had pretty much 24 hours to pull off the show.  As alumni, we know the hard work and long hours it usually takes to put together FNF.  The DCC began rehearsals at 5 pm at Valley Ranch on Thursday, then moved to the Gaylord around 9:30 to begin rehearsal at 11 pm.  They wrapped rehearsal around 1:30 am and then began again at 9:00 am Friday morning.  Rehearsal went until 5 pm with show beginning at 7:30.  Whew!  The audience was mesmerized as the DCC performed their 23 routines over 2 1/2 hours.  No one knew they were going on very little sleep.  Consummate professionals!

Last year, I gave you a breakdown of each individual performance.... this year I decided to share the show and the experience through a different set of eyes.  Here is her story....

                                                                Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Help Girl's Dream Come True

Angie Mountain loves all things to do with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.  She collects their memorabilia, and got a Cowboys jacket one Christmas.  The Chilhowie woman is a devoted follower of the television show Making the Squad on CMT, watching every week as hopefuls try out for coveted spots on arguably the most famous cheering squad in the world.

On Friday, she got to meet her idols in person. Actually as a Very Important Person.

This dream-come-true story began for Angie about a year ago when she said she wanted tickets to see the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, her mom, Beverly Mountain, said.  "We thought she was talking about a football game, and we decided to kind of just let it drop, because we didn't think she would be able to get to Dallas," Beverly said.  Angie didn't drop it. In fact, she mentioned her desire to see the
cheerleaders to Beverly's niece, Ashley Dyson, who works for an attorney in Abingdon.

"Ashley called us about a month ago and said, 'Could you take Angie to Dallas on Easter weekend? I have two tickets to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Family & Friends extravaganza,'" Beverly said.

Beverly checked the calendar and saw school would be closed. "I work at Head Start, so I knew I would be off."

The plan was in motion, thanks to Ashley to whom all the credit goes, Beverly said. After talking with Angie, Ashley had gone to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' Web site and e-mailed Brooke Alexander, a former Dallas cheerleader, Beverly said. Ashley shared with Brooke that Angie's dream was to see the cheerleaders, and "that she wore their logos all the time."

"A week or so later, Brooke e-mailed back," Beverly said. She told Ashley about the 2010 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Family & Friends Show with special guest Neal McCoy at the Gaylord Texan hotel and convention center in Dallas April 2. Angie would be the cheerleaders' guest.

The cheerleaders' Web site said the event is an end-of-season way for the squad to thank their network of supporters who make their time as Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders possible.  Beverly called her cousin Margaret Johnson in Yukon, OK, on the western outskirts of Oklahoma City. "She said to come spend the weekend, so I got a ticket for her, too," Beverly said.  Late last Thursday, eight people boarded a 15-passenger bus Beverly leased and headed west, driving all night to Margaret's house.

"Angie and I rested a while," Beverly said, and they left Friday afternoon, Dallas-bound, Angie all gussied up in her Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader uniform. "Hers looks different from theirs. They said she could wear it."

Only after arriving in Oklahoma did Angie learn the reason for the long trip. Otherwise, "she would have been too excited to sleep," Beverly said.

When Angie found out where she was going, "I videotaped her reaction," Beverly said, expecting an outburst of glee. Instead, "she was sort of stunned."

Back home, in spite of the secrecy, she'd somehow gotten a clue, and had been telling people she was going to see the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders for her birthday, which is May 14, Beverly said. "She said Ashley would get her tickets."

Still, Beverly said, "Angie did not fully grasp what was happening until we got to the Gaylord and she saw a poster" about the show.

"We got to where the event was going to be and Ms. Alexander met us and gave us our passes," Beverly said. "There were at least 100 people waiting to get in. I asked her, "Do we need to just wait over here?' and she said, 'Oh, no.  You are our VIPs for the evening. I'll be seating you."

Angie and her party were escorted to their seats. Angie's had a sign that said Reserved for Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders VIP Angie Mountain, Beverly said. "There was one for each of us."

Angie received a gift bag filled with cheerleaders' items, including a photograph of the squad, autographed by each member and signed "Cheers to Angie," Beverly said.

"They performed 30-some numbers," she said. "It was awesome. They are so talented."

And to top it all, Angie got to meet them.

"They said they had been hearing about her for three weeks," Beverly said.  "They just made over her. The 14 hours to Oklahoma and then three more to Dallas were worth it. I can't express what joy she felt. Angie danced in her seat while they were performing. At one point she looked over at me and said, 'Happy birthday to me!' And then she looked at me and said, "Thank you, Mommy, for bringing me."

Beverly said they arrived back home in Chilhowie around 11 a.m. Monday. And Angie said, "Thank you, Mommy, for taking me."

Although to her this was a birthday trip, Angie will be 34 next month. Asked Monday about the journey, Angie first said, "It was hot down there!"

Then she said, "I saw the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. We had a full day.  They gave me some pom-poms and goodies. My favorite is cheerleaders. We got back on time."

Angie is truly a beautiful soul... here she is with her new friends...